Basic info on cultures and civilizations?

[Pragmatic]

I like multi ethnic game worlds, but would like to draw some inspiration from the real world. For example, using the Forgotten Realms, there's the nation and people of Turmish. I would like to draw inspiration from West African empires (Mali, because I know a tiny bit about them from Civilization, and Songhai, because my wiki walking tells me they supplanted Mali and were more impressive).

I would also like to learn a little bit more about East African empires (e.g., Axum, which I learned about from the Belisarius series), Central African empires (Kondo?), and South African (Great Zimbabwe?).

I'm also interested in drawing inspiration from other real world cultures (e.g., the top four to six Native American tribes, so when I think of Native Americans, I'm not just lumping them into the Great Plains stereotypes).

I'm looking for pop-sci levels of reading material ("Dummies Guide" level), preferably covering all non European areas.

[Astromancer]

Reading some version or other of The Epic of Sundiata might give you lots of inspiration. Don't worry it isn't all that long. I'd say that most translations are only about as hard to read as Jack the Giant Killer.

[thrash]

All Empires: Online History Community might be a place to start. Despite the name, they seem to have some information on smaller states and non-state cultures, though the coverage is as random as you might expect from a fan community.

Encyclopedia Mythica collects folklore from many different cultures, which may be helpful for filling in details.

[lwcamp]

Here is a good resource for cultures from around the world
- http://www.everyculture.com/

Luke

[Phantasm]

For Native Americans, dominant cultures to me says Iroquois (NE woodlands), Algonquin (Iroquois' traditional enemies across the Lakes & St. Lawrence), Cherokee (Deep South woodlands), Seminole (Everglades), Sioux (Great Plains), Pueblo/Hopi/Apache/Navajo (American SW), and the Pacific NW tribes I can't name. Really really really dislike seeing not-Amerindians-really in Iroquois or PacNW longhouses decorated with Pueblo carpets and wall hangings next to tipis decorated with alligators.

[jason taylor]

Originally Posted by Phantasm

For Native Americans, dominant cultures to me says Iroquois (NE woodlands), Algonquin (Iroquois' traditional enemies across the Lakes & St. Lawrence), Cherokee (Deep South woodlands), Seminole (Everglades), Sioux (Great Plains), Pueblo/Hopi/Apache/Navajo (American SW), and the Pacific NW tribes I can't name. Really really really dislike seeing not-Amerindians-really in Iroquois or PacNW longhouses decorated with Pueblo carpets and wall hangings next to tipis decorated with alligators.

If I recall the Northwest tribes were great fishers and traders(even without the fur cartels) . The Nez Perce were unique in being horsebreeders(they apparently were more secure from rustlers then others).

[jason taylor]

Some generic ideas are familiar enough over the world that it is possible to make a skeleton and construct your own variation. The basic idea of clan politics is to get as many contacts as you can by being generous with wealth and providing protection(usually meaning vengeance) to followers. A well established tribal society that has grown beyond the "attach yourself to the chief that steals the most cattle" phase will always have a lot of odd taboos. Such things are absolutely necessary in providing cohesion, and while they likely will be backed up by supernatural beliefs need not be(Grenadiers and Coldstreamers don't need that to know they are each other's enemies nor do Covenanters need it to post guard when they go to Church*, etc). Ideas abound, but one place to look is the first part of ''The Jewish Century'' by Yuri Slezkine.

In other words once you have a few basic ideas about the environmental, social and political needs of a culture, you can tag on colorful local practices.

One culture you might consider for this is the Chinese Diaspora. It can be fascinating because they still maintain kin ties and any surname powerful enough will not only have a sacred shrine but probably a tong of it's own to conduct it's business and politics.



*That is Covenanters don't post guard because they believe in the supernatural although going to Church implies it. They post guard because their ancestors believed the Montroses would burn them inside their Church, or some other charming fact.

[lwcamp]

Originally Posted by jason taylor

If I recall the Northwest tribes were great fishers and traders(even without the fur cartels) . The Nez Perce were unique in being horsebreeders(they apparently were more secure from rustlers then others).

There was considerable difference in culture between the inland northwest tribes like the Nez Perce and the coastal tribes like the Duwamish. I am more familiar with the inland cultures, and even then you had the split between Sahaptin speakers (Nez Perce, Yakama, Walla Walla, Palouse) and the interior Salish speakers (Spokane, etc.) with occasional isolates like the Cayuse.

The coastal tribes were rich from trade, the inland tribes were cut off from trade by the coastal tribes to the west and hostile Shoshone to the east. They were all highly dependent on the great salmon runs up the Columbia and it's tributaries, however, and the Nez Perce were renowned horsemen.

Luke

[Anaraxes]

Originally Posted by Phantasm

... and the Pacific NW tribes I can't name.

Tillamook and Chinook are a couple, off the top of my head. Mostly famous to me for reasons other than being tribes, but there we are.

There's about six major culture groups in the modern-day US, depending how you want to divide them up. You might also add California (Pomo, Miwok), which is somewhat different from the Pacific Northwest. You could also split the mountain tribes from the southwestern ones into middle (Ute, Paiute) and northern (Nez Perce, Yakima).

In the Great Plains group, you might add Comanche, Wichita, Osage for a sense of variations.

[ak_aramis]

Originally Posted by Phantasm

For Native Americans, dominant cultures to me says Iroquois (NE woodlands), Algonquin (Iroquois' traditional enemies across the Lakes & St. Lawrence), Cherokee (Deep South woodlands), Seminole (Everglades), Sioux (Great Plains), Pueblo/Hopi/Apache/Navajo (American SW), and the Pacific NW tribes I can't name. Really really really dislike seeing not-Amerindians-really in Iroquois or PacNW longhouses decorated with Pueblo carpets and wall hangings next to tipis decorated with alligators.

For Alaska...

Yupic/Yupiq (SW Alaska except the Aleutians and the continental extension of that range)
Inupiak/Inupiaq (NW and N Alaska)
Athabascan (SC and central Alaska)
Aluutiq (the excluded mainland in SW continental Alaska, and some coastal areas of SC Alaska)
Aleut (The Aleutian Islands)
Tligntit (Northern end of the "Panhandle" (SE))
Haida (Southwestern panhandle)
Tsimshian (se panhandle and northern BC)

Each of these is several tribes, but generally one language with several dialects. Athabascan, however, is considered several languages, not dialects, for various reasons.

The Pacific Northwest has many many tribes; I don't know (and cannot easily find) the cultural groups.